Consumed with friends in the informal lobby dining area of a new, upscale Atlanta hotel Twelve. Anne and I had never tried a Turley wine, and we were with a person who is a Zin-head. Sweet nose of blueberry pie and dark plums, and all dark fruit flavors carried on a soft texture. Very plush and soft. Maybe too soft -- shouldn't Zins be a bit more unruly? Seemingly no tannins at all. I found it as easy to drink as fruit punch, but it's not my style of Zin. Yummy, I guess, but don't try to match it with food. Anne liked it maybe a bit more than I did, and it was a hit around the table. I didn't notice the alc., but it wasn't hot. RP gave it a 90-92 and said drink '05 to '09. Well, now I can say I've tried a Turley.

On an amusing side note, and this will probably only be understood by the folks from last year's offline who know what I look like, but I was mistaken for the music artist Moby all evening by the wait staff, and the waiter kept calling me "Mr. Melville" (his real name). According to the others, the service at the table really picked up once I arrived

He was one funny dude Dan! I remember one winter in Chicago at the Executive House bar having lunch with Bill Veeck and this lil'lovely comes to our table accompanied by what can only be described as the left tackle/left guard for the Bears and says " You're George Goble aint' you " Starting to shake my head vertically she turned to goliath and said " They said he was a big prude" and as he started toward my vulnerable side/front/behind I smiled widely and said " Just kidding pretty lady.... what's your first name?" WW

G.G. had been a regular on several New York based TV shows such as Ed Sullivan and others of that ilk. After he moved to Hollywood and got his own show, I cought the first one. He said: "I noticed that a lot of women out here wear slacks; I also noticed that a lot of women shouldn't wear slacks."

It's really neat to me that you knew Bill Veeck. Bill Veeck was a legend in Chicago, as he likely was everywhere he went. My favorite story is when he signed Eddie Gaedel to a baseball contract with the St. Louis Browns. Gaedel, a midget, was sent in to draw a walk -- which he did in 4 pitches. Veeck, hearing that Gaedel might try a swing, though, told him that a sniper would be sitting in the stands! At least, that's the story as I know it. Of course, the AL Commish was not amused by the stunt, and he had the contract voided the following day. If I'm not mistaken, Veeck was also responsible for, among other things, player names on the back of jerseys, signing the first African-American to the AL (Doby), signing the oldest rookie in baseball history (Paige), installing moveable outfield fences (against the rules now), the exploding scoreboard, and the infamous Disco Demolition Night. Actually, the only time I ever saw him in Chicago was just before that. Soon after, he had to sell the Sox.

Dan he was, to say it mildly, one of the greatest characters I've been privilaged to meet. Not one minute went by without him telling some regaling story that was so funny you snorted your martini thru your nose. His check kiting stories of his early days to make payroll are hilarious. WW

The restaurants I frequent know about my habits but when I go into a new restaurant and start taking notes on the wine in a little notebook some mistake me for a food critic. I've been asked several times by other diners and somethimes waitpersons if I write for a newspaper or something. It probably doesn't hurt the service if the waitpersons think I'm going to be writing up the restaurant (which I often do on this forum).

There's Helen Turley who is famous or infamous. Then I understand that her brother has a winery. Do you know which Turley is behind the wine you tasted? I think the only one I tasted (at a Zin tasting in DC area) was from the brother.